Ukraine did not know about the transfer of Ukrainian prisoners from Russia to Hungary, the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, Oleh Nikolenko, has said.
"The Ukrainian government was not informed about the relevant negotiations between the Hungarian and Russian sides. We learnt from the public statements of the Hungarian deputy prime minister that Russia had handed over 11 Ukrainians of Hungarian origin to Budapest," Nikolenko said.
He stressed that the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war is "always good news" and that "Ukraine, in cooperation with international partners, is actively working to bring all our defenders home".
Due to the situation with the prisoners, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has now invited Hungary's chargé d'affaires for a "substantive conversation".
"The Ukrainian side passed on a request to provide detailed information about our citizens and to immediately provide access to them for the Ukrainian consul to get acquainted with their health condition and provide them with consular assistance. During the meeting, we stressed the need to coordinate cooperation on such sensitive issues as the release of prisoners of war," Nikolenko added.
Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén said that the Russian Orthodox Church had handed over a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war from Transcarpathian Region to Budapest. One of the intermediaries was supposed to be the charity organisation Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Malta.